2.4.08

A few days ago, to the accompaniment of jingoistic headlines courtesy The Crimes of India (and other rags), Ratan Tata broke open his piggy bank and acquired Jaguar (and Land Rover). The flag wavers, waved flags.The chest thumpers, thumped chests.The rich, got richer.The poor, rather inconsiderately, stayed poor.TELCO saving Jaguar, however, overshadowed other TATA group activity in the animal kingdom - the construction of the TATA Steel port in Dhamra, Orissa. To put the whole thing in a nutshell, Dhamra is an ecological soft spot, on this battered old planet we infest with such blissful ignorance. Among other things, it is cheek by jowl with the world's largest mass nesting site of Olive Ridley sea turtles. Massive construction (the only sort that comes to mind when one is talking about ports) would wreak the sort of havoc in the turtle world, that George W has wrought in ours. Collateral damage would include King Crabs, Crab-eating Frogs, and others. To know more, from people who know more, read this.So what's my point here? Quite simple, really.The Jaguar, is not native to India.The Olive Ridley sea turtle, is.Perhaps it's time to remind Mr. Tata of the fact.To write to Ratan Tata, just click here.